Hope
by h2ofan
Summary: Ariadne thought she made the right choices, until one man re-enters her life, the point man. She finds what horrible mistakes they were. There is only one thing in her life that she will never call a mistake, her Hope. A/A Family/Drama/Romance
1. Chapter 1

Ariadne thought she made the right choices, until one man re-enters her life, the point man. She finds what horrible mistakes they were. There is only one thing in her life that she will never call a mistake, her Hope. A/A

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Inception **

Ariadne stared at the ceiling. The circling fan above her head was bothering her. She contemplated getting up to shut it off, but she was felt too exhausted to even lift a finger. Breathing was a hard enough task, she had to remind herself to do it every once in a while. She tried to shut off her mind, but it buzzed with a thousand thoughts. Among breathing there were other things she had to worry about. No matter how tired she felt, she couldn't dismiss them. This stupid case of insomnia had kept her awake for days now. She was sure that soon she would have to take sleeping pills to get some peace of mind. That was just one more thing she had to think about.

"Mommy?" The voice made her shiver. Every time she heard the voice new thoughts burst into her mind.

"Yes sweetie?" she turned to her side and tried to see in the dark.

"I had a nightmare," the small figure whispered. She was obviously frightened, but very tired.

"Come here baby," she moved over in the bed and made room. Small feet tapped as they ran towards the bed. She climbed in and nestled into the covers quickly.

"I couldn't sleep and when I did… the monsters were there," the little girl whispered.

"Don't worry," Ari said quietly, "You're safe here, with me." She wrapped her arms around her daughter and let her snuggle in closer to her. Ariadne ran her fingers gingerly through the long wavy black hair. She relaxed slightly and waited for the three year old's breath to slow. She fell asleep quickly, safe under her arms.

It was times like these she wished that he was still around. She wished that he were there to experience the roller coaster that was parenthood. The thought had run through her mind a million times. Insomnia was a blessing as much as it was a curse. It was her mistake though, it was her fault he wasn't there. Everything was because of her, and she would never be able to take it back. That last night. That last blissful night haunted her. Everytime she closed her eyes she remembered it. This, of course just made it harder to fall asleep.

_"Long day?"He slipped into bed and wrapped his arms around her._

_ "Too long if you ask me," she answered softly turning to see his face that was only a shadow under the moonlight. He kissed her and they both relaxed, "Well… just forget about it now." _

_ "I can't go to sleep," she admitted._

_ "Why not?" he asked._

_ "I _was_ waiting for you," she breathed. Their fingers danced along each other's skin. Ariadne's fingertips touched his face, sending a shiver down both their spines._

_ "Well why can't you go to sleep now?" _

_ "Because now that you're here I'm more…"_

_ "Energetic?" he supplied._

_ "Oh yes…" she rolled her eyes sarcastically, "Now I can have my way with you!" Quickly she took both his wrists and got on top of him, pinning him to the bed. He laughed as she leaned over and gave him a small teasing kiss. _

_ "Eh…." He laughed. Her eyes widened but he just sat up and kissed her again, this time a real kiss. The kind that made her want to melt, the kind that made everything else unreal. With a sigh she fell back onto her side of the bed. _

_ "Not interested tonight… I guess," he laughed. "Go to sleep my little insomniac."_

_ "Good night…" she whispered, letting him wrap his arms around her again, "I love you."_

_ "I love you too Arthur." _

It had seemed like it was just yesterday and yet it had been so long. Years… almost four to be exact. Ariadne sighed again, thinking about what to try to do to get to some much needed sleep at last.

RING! RING! Of course, that was going to help her get to sleep. The little one didn't stir, which she was thankful. Her hands opened the phone and brought it to her ear.

"Hello?" she was forced to whisper.

"Ari!" the other line seemed surprised to have gotten her.

"Hey Cobb…" she relaxed again, leaning against the pillows in the dark.

"I didn't expect to get you… I'm sorry for ringing so late…"

"It's fine. I couldn't really sleep anyway,"

"Oh… well. I was just calling to ask you… I was wondering if you might consider… doing a job," he was as unsure as she felt. This wasn't the first time he had asked of course. Though he was understanding as to the circumstances of why not. He probably thought she was going to react the same way as the other times.

"Well… I guess…"

"Hope's a lot older now. She can stay here with Miles and James and Phillipa. This is a simple two if not one level extraction. By the book…" he cut her off, "wait did you just say I guess?"

"Yeah… I did," she said looking back to her daughter who was curled up in the covers.

"Oh…" he didn't know what to say. He probably had a whole speech prepared that was now wasted on nothing. There was an awkward silence for a moment.

"Just inbox me the place and time ok?" she said quietly.

"Of course…. You're the best Ari."

"Don't you forget it," she teased lightly. There was a small laugh before the line went dead. Cobb was a lot like her, never really good at goodbyes. Working with Cobb had always been something Ariadne treasured. Though whenever she saw him it brought back more memories of the past, happy ones that made her so nostalgic she wanted to scream. Times of when she and Arthur were together. 

**Author's Note: Sorry about my other stories, currently experiencing horrible case of writer's block. I have been working on this for a while, so I have more chapters. But I thought, during my dry spell why not upload this? Thank you for reading reviewing. Tell me, should I keep posting? (its almost done already but I want to know if you actually want to read it… lol)**


	2. Chapter 2

"Thanks again Miles," Ariadne shook her old professor's hand.

"Not a problem," said the retired college teacher. She turned on her heel and left. The little LA home was charming and cute, Ariadne always loved visiting Cobb and his kids with Hope. This time she was just there to drop her off though. The second she got into her car she ran her hands through her hair and took a sip of her coffee. She was so unbelievably tired. Work was going to be horrible just because of that. Though the first day was always a bit of a chill day. It was a day to get to know the mark and that was really it. Simple information there was no way she could mess up and make a giant mistake. Besides she didn't have to worry about the PASIV and sedatives like the others, she barely went under, seeing as how architects usually don't.

"Here comes the sun little darling…" she switched off the radio as fast as she could. She didn't need irony and singing all in one car ride. The morning had been hard enough. Dragging Hope out of bed, getting her dressed was always a struggle since she always insisted on wearing the weirdest things. Then she had to feed her and get her things ready, like her lunch. It was always a hassle. Then after that she had to take care of herself. Power shake, shower, and then get dressed. Usually it didn't take that long, but for some reason today, she couldn't really find anything that she liked. So she ended up wearing simple black jeans with a long sleeve tee shirt and a scarf… so in other words, the usual.

As soon as she pulled up the dirt path and saw the building, she knew she was at the right place. This time Cobb had chosen to work in an old boat house near a marina. Though it wasn't as ideal as a warehouse or an abandoned house might be, it would work. To her small meant cozy. Besides it wasn't all too bad. It looked like it could be a tiny house, a little green bungalow with a blue roof and shutters that sat at the end of a dock.

The door was unlocked, very safe, as always. And she headed right in. It was larger than it looked from the outside, always a plus. The room looked like it was large enough to be a small apartment. So it wasn't so bad. There was different odds and ends of furniture. A couch that was torn, boat equipment on the wood paneled walls, desks that were made from all different materials. Chairs of all sorts. Filling them was the team.

"Ari!" Cobb got up and hugged her. Though they had seen each other almost every week the hug was more of a 'welcome back to work!' type of hug rather than the 'it's been so long' type.

"Cobb," she smiled. They let go and he turned, "I hope you remember everyone."

"Of course." Ari's eyes fell on the man in the first chair.

"ARIADNE darling!" Eames jumped to his feet and threw his arms around her in a bear hug. He was quite large compared to the small petite architect.

"How are you Eames?" she tucked a piece of hair behind her ear, nervously.

"Good and you?"

"Just as well…"

"Little Hope?"

"All good," she blushed at the mention of her daughter.

"Ari… I don't get a hug?" Yusuf tapped her on the shoulder.

"Of course!" she laughed, wrapping her arms around the old chemist. He stood back and adjusted his glasses. "You look fantastic as ever." They all stood in a circle. Then quickly, the mood died away. The air stiffened and Ariadne paled so fast it looked like she had just seen a ghost. The last to get up was Arthur, the point man.

"Ari," he nodded politely.

"Hello Arthur," she said in an even quieter voice. The tension in the room was so thick you could slice it in half with a knife. Everyone seemed to be exchanging nervous glances. Arthur didn't seem to notice though. His eyes were on his work, barely giving her any attention whatsoever.

"So…" Ari turned back to face Cobb, "What's the plan…"

"Right… come with me," he led her all the way across the room to his desk. Eames and Yusuf started talking casually again, something about a bet. She toned them out though.

"All right so…" he wasn't as loud.

"Cobb," she hissed grabbing his arm. "What the hell?"

"What?" he knew fully well though. Slowly he took some papers out of a desk drawer and set them on top, as if he were actually going to talk about them. Ari knew he wasn't as good at deflection as he wished he were, "Why didn't you tell me Arthur would be here?"

"I… it's been four years… I thought maybe you two might have grown up." He said with a shrug. His icy blue eyes didn't dare meet hers though. Ari didn't really care that Arthur was there, except she did. She didn't know what to say, it was awkward. Everything that had happened was just soo… recent… or maybe not.

"It's been three years and ten months actually," she replied crossly folding her arms.

"Well… there you go," he pointed to the words on the paper like he was talking about it. Ariadne glanced over her shoulder at the others who were heading back to their desks now.

"This is so awkward…" she mumbled to herself before heading over to the empty desk that, of course, sat right next to Arthur's.

_Ariadne swung her bare leg back and forth, her eyes watching the clock meticulously. Arthur folded the newspaper and put it down on the breakfast table top. He stood up and took one last bite of his toast._

_ "You ok?" he asked, straightening his tie._

_ "Hmm?" she looked up, only hearing his voice, not the words. _

_ "Are you ok?" he repeated his question. She nodded, "Of course. I'm fine."_

_ "Well… I'll see you after work… remember, I have a very special surprise for you," he winked and headed out of the room. She waited. She went back to the clock and waited for the slam of the door._

_ "Holy crap! HOLY CRAP!" she got up, freaking out. With urgency she ran into the bathroom and leaned over the toilet. The contents of her stomach emptying itself. She ran her fingers through her messy bed head and clenched her teeth. Her shaking hands grasped the small white stick that Arthur hadn't seemed to notice. She had let it sit for far too long, she needed to know the answer… though something about the way she was acting told her she already knew. _

_ "It is… it is…" she flipped it over. Her eyes went in and out of focus, making it impossible to see anything. Though once she was able to, she wished she didn't. It really wasn't a surprise… it was just further proof. _

_ "What to do? What to do?" she ran out of the room, "Oh great… Now I'm talking to myself. What next?" Her eyes fell on the open bedroom door. That was what to do. She ran barefoot to the carpeted room that hosted a queen size bed and an array of dressers. She went into the walk-in closet and pulled out the two suitcases she owned. As fast as she could she opened them and began stuffing anything and everything that was hers into them. This was it. Tears formed and ran down her cheeks as she crazily rampaged through the room._

_ There was no other choice. She and Arthur had been dating for two years. Yes they loved each other. Yes they had talked about marriage, but kids? No, it had never even come up. What if Arthur didn't want kids? She couldn't stand a look of disgust from him, even if he did stay with her. Then there was that chance. The chance that he would leave her. She couldn't face that! No, anything but that. _

_ Even if she tried to be an optimist she knew that there was no bright side. Say he did want kids. That would be great. But she couldn't force him to be something he wasn't ready for. Besides what if he had wanted to get married first? She couldn't just elope. Then maybe he would be a gentleman about it, as he always was. He would insist on marrying her. She wanted to marry him… but she wanted to do it for the right reasons. She wanted to be loved and to love him. Not just because she was having his kid! This was all wrong. There was only one way to fix it… she had to leave. _

_This was it… she had no choice. There was no other way. _She had to leave._ Finally she was done. Her hands picked up the suitcases and she headed out the door. The only things left behind were the keys to the apartment and the necklace Arthur had given her. She couldn't bear to leave behind a note, that was too painful. She couldn't do anything more. There were no other choices. _

**A/N- Thank you so much for reading and reviewing! :)**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: I know that this chapter is kind of short and not super A/A but the next one is REALLY filled with moments cause they actually talk and hang out and its more… them oriented than her just thinking like in this one. **

A week had gone by and nothing had happened. The awkward moments between Arthur and Ariadne created an odd state of normalcy. Though it was as normal as it was going to get. The day was winding down. She would have to go soon and pick up Hope from preschool. She loved picking up Hope, it was probably her favorite part of the day. She loved when she came in and her face lit up, the warm chocolate eyes filled with happiness at the sight of her mother.

"Ari…" she didn't look up from her sketch. Her left hand propped up her cheek while her right hand sketched a maze mindlessly.

"Ari," the voice repeated.

"What?" she looked up, expecting to find Cobb or Eames. The usual visitors of her desk. She froze though, this time it was Arthur. She gulped, oh god he looked good. Just as she remembered him, it didn't even look like he had aged. His dark black hair was smoothed back with gel and he wore a dress shirt with a vest. The sleeves were rolled, he had been hard at work. The dark trousers suited him, as always.

"What can I do for you?" her eyes averted his.

"I was just wondering… if we might be able to… talk," she looked up at him, but he was looking behind him. The others were watching but quickly turned back when both of them turned their attention back.

"To talk?" She repeated slowly. Oh… what did that mean?

"Maybe you would like to go to dinner, or perhaps you could come over my place…"

"Sorry… I can't. I have… other things I have to do."

"Well it doesn't have to be today," why was he always so persistent?

"Ok fine… the next day that Cobb lets us take off we'll talk," Ari smirked to herself. Cobb rarely gave off days. He only let them go home early or not come in at all when someone on the team got really really drunk the previous night or if someone was shot. Both of which rarely occurred, the first one occurring way less than the second to be frank.

"Fine," he said. She looked up, was he angry with her? Well he did have a bit of a right to be. Slowly Ari folded the plans and stuffed them into her bag. She had been thinking so much she had barely gotten anything done.. she would have to work on it later tonight at home. She arose from her seat and looked at the others.

"I will talk to you tomorrow. Good night," she waved to them all. As usual they all took notice waving.

Ari unlocked her car when she felt a tap on her shoulder.

"Hello there darling,"

"What do you want Eames?" she had fallen back into the routine of barely listening to the old Brit. He was a great friend and really humorous, but sometimes he was a bit too much of a distraction, "I just wanted to say hi. Chat you up a bit perhaps."

She leaned against the car and he put his hand out and leaned against it.

"What do you want to 'chat' about?" she tilted her head, "if it's about Arthur you can…"

"Woah, woah, woah. Before you get too defensive there, I have to say, that's not what I wanted to chat about," he said looking back over his shoulder. Ariadne frowned, he looked serious, "Then about what?"

"Well… I wanted to know how Hope is holding up." He answered sincerely.

"You?" she raised her eyebrow skeptically, "You want to know how Hope is?"

"Well… I have known the baby since she was… well a baby…" he answered with a crooked toothed smile.

"Hope is fine…"

"You know what I mean Ariadne," his eyes deepened with concern.

"Everything is fine. She is clueless to what she doesn't have, so there is nothing really to say about it," she shrugged. "You know… if you care about her so much. Maybe you should just come over and see her."

The suggestion hung in the air for a moment. Eames thought for a second, "Sure… sure that would be great."

_Ariadne cradled the tiny baby in her arms. Finally, some peace at last. The sound of the door slamming made her sigh, scratch that last part. _

_ "Ari…" her mother came into the living room, "You have some visitors"_

_ "Of course I do," she smiled down._

_ "Ariadne… we're so sorry… If you want we can come back another time…" Cobb led the way. _

_ "No, it's no problem. I really haven't had a chance to talk with anyone lately," wow she sounded really lame. She moved her hair out of her face with her free hand._

_ "I'm just running to the store," her mother slipped out of the house leaving just them. Eames took a seat besides her on the couch. _

_ "She's so tiny!" he sounded like he had never seen a baby before. Cobb took a seat on the armchair. _

_ "Would you like to hold her?" she asked. Eames frowned, was that eve a possibility. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea. Ari shifted the weight and handed her over to Eames. _

_ "Do not drop her!" Cobb rolled his eyes. Eames didn't hear though, he was too absorbed by the small baby moving around in her sleep. Dreams of nothing going through her little mind. _

_ "Any news… of anything?"_

_ Both men exchanged glances. They spoke through their eyes but it was something she couldn't understand. Eames handed Hope back to her mother, like it was uncomfortable. _

_ "Well… we haven't had any jobs recently." Oh that wasn't soo bad. _

_ "Arthur was shot."_

_ "What?" the baby was starting to wake up. Ugh. _

_ "Minor, no place important. Just a bruise now." Eames shot an angry look at Cobb. They knew it would worry her. She blushed and repositioned Hope. _

_ "She looks like him…" he answered, changing the subject. That was one thing… everyone she knew was asking her. Of course they assumed she was her boyfriend of two years. Though no one wanted to confront her directly. It hadn't been a secret, but the words had never passed her lips. She had never admitted it aloud. In fact she had even denied it. To her parents of course. To her best friends even. She couldn't lie to them though. They knew. They had been there the first time he asked her out. They had been there the night they had their first kiss. They were the first to know about them moving in together. It was just something that couldn't be a secret. _

_ "She does… a little… they have the same eyes," she whispered so softly she didn't know if the others heard._

Before she knew it she had pulled up at the small little brick school house, got out of the car and walked all the way up to the front of the building.

"Afternoon Ari," she headed into the classroom. One of the other kids was leaving as she arrived. The rest of them sat on the floor playing with various dolls and toys.

"Good afternoon," she greeted, her eyes searching for her daughter, "Where is she?"

"There she is," the teacher smiled. She could see the bright blue shirt and cute little stripped pants to match it. White sneakers and a headband to match.

"Hope," the stout teacher called.

The three year old looked up from the table and over her shoulder. A smile spread across her face. Leaving the others without care she hurried across the room and threw her arms around her mom's legs.

"Hey Hope," Ariadne picked her up by the waist. Hope flicked her flowing hair out of her way and smiled. Waving at her teacher.

"See you tomorrow dear," Mrs. Scott said looking over the other kids.

"See you tomorrow Ari,"

"Charlene." She nodded and headed out. As they left the school Ari and Hope fell into their usual talk. How was your day? Good, yours? All right. What did you do at school today. Daydream. Sweetie that's not good. Its what you do at work. It was all a part of the usual day. Ariadne wasn't sure how she was supposed to feel about Hope knowing about the dream. Dream sharing was something that was normal for Ariadne. Sure it was… on the terms of being 'illegal' but it was something that was a part of her, a part of life. How could she not tell her own flesh and blood, born from two people whose lives it was, about the one thing that had made them meet in the first place?

"Sweetie, you are supposed to learn when you go to school. If you don't lean you won't know what's out there… the things that are really worthwhile dreaming about." She said. Though she was sure Hope wasn't one hundred percent positive what she meant about dream sharing. She knew that she was smart enough to daydream. She thought that was what she did, nothing among the terms of stealing people's ideas by going into their minds.

"What do you dream about mommy?"

"A lot of things…" she licked her lips, an un ideal response. Was it sad that the first thing that came to her mind when asked that question was Arthur?


	4. Chapter 4

"I love you Ari," Arthur kissed her hair as the baby was placed into her arms. Her vision was blurry but she didn't care. She pulled the little girl in close to her. She kissed the smooth skin on her forehead. Ariadne touched the baby as gently as she could. She was so tiny she could be a doll. Crying filled the air, but it was music to her ears. The worst part was over.

"Oh my God," she gushed, wiping away the sweat and tears from her face.

"She's so beautiful," She looked over at her side. His brown eyes were brimming with tears. Without much talking she lifted the baby to him. Arthur looked at her nervously but she nodded encouragingly. With gentle hands he picked up the baby and stood up. Ari watched him carefully, he would make an amazing father.

"Our little girl." He whispered.

"Did we decide on a name?" she relaxed with a sigh. Her whole body ached, but she had to stay awake for a few more minutes. Her baby needed her.

"It's really up to you," Arthur didn't look away from the little girl who moved her hands around blindly.

"Hope," she nodded, "Something we both agreed on."

"Mhmm," he sighed, "Hope."

The baby's crying seemed to soften, like she already knew it was her name. Arthur stared into the brown eyes that she had inherited from both her parents, "I love you Hope."

"Mommy?" she looked up and frowned. Arthur and her little girl were fading away, becoming ghosts.

"Arthur?" she tried to reach out for him, but both he and the baby were gone.

"Mommy!" Hope's voice ripped her out of her sleep.

"Hope?" she flung open her eyes. Three year old Hope smiled down at her, "Mommy… you didn't wake up today." She tilted her head, questioningly.

"What?" she looked over at the digital alarm clock on the nightstand. Eight thirty.

"SHI…oot!" she shook her head and shoved the covers off of herself. She had so much to do. Take a shower, get dressed, eat, make sure Hope was dressed and had eaten. She had to get her stuff together. It was going to be a long morning.

RING! RING! The phone began to call out.

"What now?" she didn't have time for this. Quickly she flung open her closet doors and browsed through her cloths. She pulled out one of her normal outfits and threw it on the bed. Hope followed her closely. She would have asked her to get dressed but that would take even longer. Whenever Hope dressed herself she wore the strangest things she could find. Not only would she clash, but she would over dress, putting on more than three sweaters, pants, leggings and skirts. Then she would always steal one of her mother's scarfs. After that it would take Ari even longer to convince her to wear something else. A temper tantrum would be thrown and before they knew it, they were even later than they originally were.

"Hey, you've reached Ariadne. I'm probably just screening this call so if you want me to pick up… it's probably best to leave a message."

"Ari… hey it's me. I was just calling…" she tripped over some cloths on the floor as she made her way to grab it before he hung up.

"Hello?" she picked it up and almost dropped it.

"Oh hey Ari… so I was wondering about today." Arthur talked calmly and slowly.

"About that. I might be a little late," she sheepishly looked at her messy bedroom.

"Didn't you get Cobb's message?"

"What?"

"You don't have to come in today," he offered.

"Oh what a relief," she relaxed, "Wait…. What did you have to do with this?" There was some rustling on the other end, he was either using a fake out to make her forget her question or he was just uncomfortable with answering. She turned to face the wall, her back to Hope.

"I didn't have anything to do with it,"

"Arthur… you were never a very good liar." That struck a chord.

"So anyways." He was abrupt, "Do you want to come over to my place or maybe we could go to lunch?" Ariadne looked over her shoulder. Hope stood there, watching her, she wasn't sure if she was absorbing the conversation or just staring at her with a thoughtless mind.

"Do you think you could come over to my place?" she sat down on the edge of the bed.

"Oh… um… sure…"

"134 Maple Drive," she said, "Come whenever."

"I'll see you in like an hour or two," he said hanging up so fast she didn't get a chance to say goodbye. Though she never got the chance to say goodbye to him. It was nothing new.

Then again anytime there was a awkward good bye then there was an awkward hello.

"Hello," Ariadne opened the front door.

"Good morning," Arthur stiffened. He wore something casual. Almost the same exact thing he wore when they had first met, when he first taught her. A vest and stripped shirt. Hair jelled back and freshly shaven.

"Come on in," she stepped back and talked as quietly as possible. Today was going to be a little more than weird.

"Thank you," he stepped inside the apartment and looked around. It was a small place, but Ariadne loved it. Everything was just the way that she had hoped her own apartment would be. The colors were pleasant to the eye and she made sure to hang up all of her favorite pieces against the furniture that suited it the most. It made for quite a cozy place to live.

"Do you want some coffee or something?" she led him into the kitchen.

"Sure,"

"You can take a seat," she motioned lamely at the breakfast bar stool. He sat and waited as she fixed them both something to drink. After all these years she still remembered how he liked it. A teaspoon of cream and one of milk.

"Thank you," he smiled unconvincingly.

"You know I was freaking out this morning," she took the seat across from him.

"Why is that?" he frowned.

"I thought I was going to be late. My alarm didn't go off and I was in the middle of a dream," she confessed, taking a sip of her coffee.

"What did you dream about?" he asked with a frown.

"Oh nothing, just the day Hope was born," she looked down at Hope who seemed content with the die that Arthur had offered her.

"Oh," he blushed.

"Look Arthur… if you're here because of where we stand…"

"Oh no." he cut in, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to mislead you. I have a girlfriend," Even after four years, that hurt almost as much as if he had cheated on her. She looked down at her hands in her lap and swallowed, "Oh."

How was she not supposed to be bothered? The only person she ever loved was with someone else… no big deal.

"What's her name?"

"Gwen," he answered, looking away from her.

"Oh… that's nice." She couldn't find any other words than the ones that were automated to come out of her mouth, "Then why are you here?" That sounded a little more harsh than she meant though.

"I was wondering if you might be able to decipher this actually," he reached into his pocket and held out a letter. Memories flooded back to her instantly. "I never got to read what it said. My sister found it in her washbin and apologized, she had forgotten to give it to me. Said you had dropped it off yourself."

"I did," her face was blanched.

"You never got it?" her breath shook. Everything she had thought was wrong.

"No… I couldn't make out what it said. I could tell your name was signed at the bottom, and that one of the sentences is that you had to tell me the truth… about why you left," he unfolded it carefully and pointed to the end of the paragraph. Sure enough it was the only thing you could make out. The blue pen's ink ran everywhere, in ever small crease of the paper. Washed out and old.

"Can I have this?" she frowned. Arthur's eyes finally changed from the wall that he had put up, the charade crashed down. Panic or sadness, she couldn't tell.

"It's your letter," his words were cold.

"Thank you," she swallowed and looked down at the letter. Was it sad she knew the whole thing by heart?

"Are you sure you don't remember any of it… maybe even what it was about?"

"I'm afraid not," she said dryly. She looked back up to see if he could tell that she was lying. His eyes were somewhere else though. Ari looked over her shoulder to where he was staring. In the doorway was the little girl that he had only heard mentioned. Her long dark hair seemed even curlier than usual, falling down slightly past her shoulders. She wore a pink striped top and jeans.

"Hope, baby, it's ok. You can come here," her mother turned her whole torso and leaned over. She held out her arms. Hope's brown eyes looked from the stranger and then back to her mom's. Quickly she made her way across the floor and into her arms. Ari pulled her up onto her lap and put away the letter.

"Hello," Arthur leaned across the table, intrigued. Hope was silent, looking back at her mom for directions as to what to do. Ari laughed, "Go on… say hi."

"Hi," she played with her hair.

"You're Hope," he said thoughtfully, examining her face. This made Ari uncomfortable, it didn't take much math or examination to figure it out. She tried to see if he knew, if he understood who she was.

"How old are you?" he frowned.

"Three," she held out her fingers. "Who are you?" She interrupted his train of thought.

"My name is Arthur," he smiled warmly.

"Do you want to see something?" she leaned over and looked around like it was a secret. He chuckled, "Sure." She tilted her head and got down from Ari's lap. Like she had known who he was all along she went around the table and took his hand. He got up and bent over, letting her lead him into her room. Ari sighed and followed them.

"Look!" she exclaimed proudly. As usual blocks were scattered across the floor. In the middle, there was a building of some sort. It stood higher than most of the things she had made previously.

"Wow… you did this? All by yourself?" he got down on his knees and looked at it. "She's only three?"

"Yes…" Ari blushed. Sure Hope was smart, but it probably had more to do with the fact that ever since Hope had any sort of control of her arms, Ari had given her blocks to build with and keep her busy. She taught her how to build and stack them and create things that weren't just a pile of blocks, though half the time that was the result.

"It's the castle," she said looking back at her mother.

"What?" Ari shook her head, confused for a second.

"from the story… King Arthur's…" she smiled. Ari blushed again, she didn't mean to make any connection to Arthur but she didn't realize it until later.

"Oh right," she ran her fingers through her hair before getting to her knees. "You did a great job sweetie."

"Like mother like daughter," he laughed.

"Let's play!" she said holding out one of her toy dolls. Ariadne laughed, "Hope… maybe he doesn't want to play."

"No, its fine," he looked over at her.

It was odd for Ariadne to see something like this. It was almost as if something were normal. This is what it would have been like if they had stayed together. Maybe this would be something that happened daily. Arthur leaning over their daughter, playing with her. Laughing at the funny things she mispronounced, pretending to play a role in a game that only a kid's mind like hers could come up with. Laughter, it brought her back to the real world. The one where Arthur wasn't even sure if this was his daughter, and was too polite to ask that question. It was a question Ari wasn't ready to answer anyways.

"She's really sweet." Arthur said after an hour of playing. He had finally gotten up to leave. A sore back, a common side effect of parenting. Even Hope seemed a little tired out. Ariadne was glad though. That meant once he left, she might actually take a nap. They both headed out to the door way.

"Sorry, I don't think this was the ideal meeting you wanted to have," she sighed picking up Hope who was reluctant to let Arthur go at all.  
>"We should do this again."<p>

"Yeah," she answered half heartedly.

"Bye Arthur," Hope waved her small hands. Arthur took one and kissed it, "I shall see you soon Hope."

Within a second he was gone. Down the steps and into his car. Ari closed the door and set Hope down. As usual she started to run wherever she wanted, pulling out whatever she felt she wanted to play with. Ariadne reached into her back pocket and pulled out the letter. It was something she hadn't seen in years. She never thought he had gotten it. She thought he either gotten it and completely ignored it, or the more likely one, he had never gotten it at all. There was hope now!

"Mommy?" the little girl called from the living room.

"Yes?" she unfolded it and began to examine the writing.

"Who was he?" she asked quietly.

"Just a co-worker of mine. A friend," she said mindlessly. Her eyes poured over the note that she had once left for him. That was why he had no idea. Each letter was smeared beyond recognition. The paper was creased and cracked and looked like it had gone through both world wars to get there. It was torn right through the middle and sides. That was probably done by Bianca though…

_Ariadne went to knock but the door swung open before she was able to hit it. _

_ "Hey Bianca." _

_ "Ari?" she didn't blame her for being surprised. This was more than unexpected. "What do you want?" Of course, she also expected hostility. She had left her brother. She had the right to be mad at the person that broke her brother's heart without an explanation as to why. _

_ "I…" she looked around the block, "Is Arthur home?"_

_ "Work." Her brown eyes moved up and down, examining her. Ari did the same. Bianca wore her hair up in a messy bun and had on pajamas. She would crash at their place from time to time, when she was in between jobs, this must have been one of those times._

_ "Well… could you give this to him?" Ariadne took out the envelope from her pocket and offered it up. _

_ "I could…"she snatched it out of her hands and looked at it carefully. _

_ "Tell him to give me a ring… please," she tried not to sound as desperate as she felt. This wasn't as easy as it sounded though, going up to your ex and telling them that they have a one and a half year old daughter who is in the hospital. No, that didn't go over well at all..._

_ "Ari, you hurt him. You can't just expect me to be the messenger here… can you?" She took a step out. _

_ "I don't care what you do. I'll come back if I have to," that was unlikely though. _

_ "Yeah sure… whatever." She carelessly stuck it into her sweatshirt. _

Bianca wasn't as kempt as her brother. Carelessly put things around s she lost them, threw anything in the wash. In fact that was probably how it had been smudged and smeared, seeing as it was a very dry week the time when she had visited them_. _

Dearest Arthur,

There are really no words for what I am about to write to you. Adjectives cannot describe the way things have been and what is happening. When I left you, I did it because I was scared and stupid. I loved and still love you. I think I always will. I understand if you don't feel the same way but… I have to tell you the truth that I was trying to escape the day I left.

You are the father of the most beautiful, most amazing little girl that has ever blessed this world. She is my life, and I love her. I wish that you could have been here when she was born and for this past year. She is everything you could ask for. I hoped that we could one day have kids but when I found out about her, I couldn't face what was right in front of me. I jumped to conclusions and ran. I am so sorry.

I didn't mean to make you feel guilty in any way. If I did I apologize for that as well. The only reason I have come to contact once again is because of her. Currently she is undergoing tests in the hospital. She is very sick and I am so scared. I am so scared she is going to die. I love her and I want her to meet her father before she leaves this world. Please. Even if you don't love me, I want this for her. I am so sorry for all this pain. I hope one day you will forgive me or at least meet her.

With Love Always,

Ariadne

**A/N: I don't know why but I am really in the mood for like a really somber mood story right now and that's why this chapter was like this. This week I watched 'Where the Heart Is' 'the Notebook' and 'Marley and Me' so I guess I am just on that sort of set right now… ya know? Ok yeah that's life… thanks for reading and reviewing! **


	5. Chapter 5

**So sorry for not updating. I had camp all last week and then Sunday I was sleeping (in recovery of camp) and then I started a video trailer for xImperialgirlx's fic **_**Possibilities**_** and I finished that today but then I had to go out because it's the 4****th**** of July plus I was am sick and I can't really write. So here it is. Better late than never, right? I hope so! Oh and I know I messed up on James and Phillipa's ages but we'll just have to pretend they're younger for Hope's sake :) Enjoy!**

The day had been dreary and rainy. Ariadne was tired from work but it was Thursday and she had to keep going. Every Thursday or Tuesday, depending on the week, James and Phillipa would have a play date with Hope. Usually they just came over or Hope just went over there but of course this week, Cobb insisted they all go out somewhere. Going out was always a nice thing but with three kids, one eight and the others under the age of six, it was a bad time. Little kids were loud and obnoxious and that was ok, but it was bad once you were in public.

"Where are we going mommy?" Hope played with her mother's long wavy hair.

"Out to eat baby," Ariadne answered as she fixed the toddler on her hip.

Ariadne pulled on the diner door. Immediately she saw Cobb. He sat in a booth in the far corner with James and Phillipa. They weren't loud at all though. Dom waved at her, she sighed and hurried to meet them.

"Hey," Cobb smiled as he saw them. She was thankful that it was late. There were only a few other people in the diner. They all seemed to not care either. Ariadne placed Hope down on the seat beside her as James greeted her with in interpretable words.

"Good evening," she took off her coat and pushed it behind her.

"Hi Aunt Ari," Phillipa smiled a gap-toothed grin.

"How are you Pip?" she asked.

"Good," she little girl answered as she pulled on her father's arm. The waitress came over and took their orders. So far James and Hope weren't being too bad. They always had conversations in their baby talk that no one but them seemed to get. Though Cobb and Ari were sure if they could understand them it would be something along the lines of I love games or something toddlers liked.

Ariadne looked around the diner. It was oddly quiet. There was another family in the far corner, and an old man who sat by himself reading the newspaper, drinking coffee. There was a couple at the counter where the desserts sat in their case. They sat on the stools and ate something. Ariadne froze as the man turned to kiss his girlfriend on the cheek. It was Arthur… of course it was Arthur.

"Holy shi…. Crap!" she said as she put her hand on the side of her face, as if it might actually hide her from their sight. Cobb frowned, he had been listening to the boring story that Pip was telling about what she did in school.

"Nice censor." Cobb rolled his eyes, "What are you freaking out about now?"

"Arthur and his girlfriend are over there," she motioned as indiscreetly as she could manage. Cobb shifted uneasily in his seat as his ice blue eyes looked over towards his best friend and his girl.

"You are acting like you're in…"

"Oh my god, they saw us!" Ari put her hands into her lap and looked over at James and Hope. The waitress came back with their drinks, setting them down on the table. Of course, blocking Ariadne's view.

"Thanks," Cobb smiled at the girl. She headed away, letting Ari spy once again. Arthur and the girl got up. They started for the table. Of course they had seen them. The girl was pretty, as expected. She had short brown hair and a perfectly structured face. She was beautiful. She wore a dress, but it wasn't a slutty dress. That's when you knew they were good. When they didn't have to be slutty to get attention for their beauty.

"Hey guys," Arthur dropped her hand.

"Oh hi," Cobb smiled. Ariadne felt like rolling her eyes as she looked at them both. They were at the edge of the table.

"This is Gwen," Arthur smiled slightly. Cobb looked over at Ariadne who looked as though she had seen a ghost.

"These are my work friends… Cobb and Ariadne," he said quietly to his girlfriend.

"Nice to meet you," Dom got up to shake her hand. Ariadne wiped put down the napkin she was holding and did the same. Gwen looked over the group of kids. Ariadne wasn't sure what she took from it but she looked slightly alarmed when her eyes fell on Hope. Then she looked to Cobb and back. Maybe she figured by some far chance he was her father. Though it was unlikely. Cobb had blonde haired, blue eyed kids, Hope had black hair and brown eyes, almost the exact opposite.

"So you're the Gwen. Arthur talks about you all the time.

"Oh really?" she blushed, "I actually…"

"Nice necklace," Ariadne noted the silver locket. She didn't care that she was interrupting.

"Thank you," Gwen smiled, caught off guard. "Its custom made. It says my name on it…" she pointed to small cursive letters that spelled out the name Guinevere, Gwen for short.

"Oh hey… look at the time. We're going to be late for that movie," Arthur said to her slowly. She smiled at Ariadne and Cobb and nodded, "It was nice to meet some of Arthur's friends."

"It was nice to meet you too," Ariadne was at a loss for words, forcing Cobb to talk.

"See you tomorrow," Arthur said cautiously throwing a look at Ariadne and then at Hope. The two moved away from the table and out the door, slipping on their coats before they left. Cobb looked back at the kids and began to continue their conversation. Ariadne was still silent.

"Hey… are you ok?" he leaned over the table top.

That's my necklace!" she said exasperatedly.

"I didn't know you played the piano and your name was Gwen," Cobb laughed as he took a sip of his cherry coke. Ariadne shook her head and sighed, "Arthur gave me a necklace just like that. Sterling silver, a chest piece, along the top is said Ariadne."

"Oh," he always went silent whenever she talked about the past with Arthur. Sure it had been great at the time and no one had a problem with it but once they were done it was that awkward, 'I still want both of you to be my friend.' Sort of thing.

"I'm sorry…" she sat back and looked down at Hope.

_Ariadne moved into the bedroom. She sighed as her eyes fell on the open closet. Everything was clean, neat and dare she say it… perfect. Arthur's hands snaked their way around her waist._

_ "Hmmm… we're all done moving." He whispered. "Now what should we do?" _

_ "I don't know what you're thinking…" she turned around and pulled him into a hug. Her cheek went against his shoulder, "But we're probably thinking the same thing." _

_ "Oh really?" she looked up at him seductively._

_ "Of course, don't worry though. I already started dinner," he laughed. She rolled her eyes and they headed into the kitchen. Sure they had eaten normal meals there together before but this was the first official one. This was their first dinner together, as a couple that was living together. _

_ It was normal like any other dinner. Spaghetti and meatballs, something simple. Arthur was an excellent cook though, so it made it that much nicer. _

_ "I have something for you," he said as he finished clearing the table._

_ "Oh really?" she leaned back in her seat. He ran the sink for a few moments, "Yeah, I think it's something you're really going to love." _

_ "Don't tell me its desert…" she giggled. He laughed as he shut off the water and reached into his pocket. Ariadne gasped, this was one hundred percent unexpected. They had only just moved in together. She wasn't ready for this, well maybe she was…_

_ "Ariadne… I would really, really, like it if…" he pulled out something. It wasn't a ring, it was a bracelet, no there was a long chain. A necklace. _

_ "If you would accept this," he let the charm on the end fall into the air. She gasped. It was a chest piece, a bishop to be exact. _

_ "Wha… why did you get me this?" she marveled at it for a moment. _

_ "I love you Ari," he answered simply. She smiled and threw her arms around him, "I love you too." _

_ "So that's a yes."_

_ "Yes to what?"_

_ "Keeping it?" he laughed. She rolled her eyes, "Of course that's a yes… that is… if I don't have to put it on myself." He laughed as she turned around. Slowly she parted her long wavy brown hair and waited as he pulled the chain around her neck. The cold silver falling gently onto her bare skin. As she put her hair back her fingers found the charm. It was the most beautiful thing she owned. It was the symbol of Arthur's love. That necklace was his love. _

_ "Now… onto tonight's activities…" he turned her around and kissed her._

_ "This time I am sure we're thinking the same thing," she giggled as she took his arm and pulled him for the bedroom door._

As the memory rolled away into the past where it belonged Ariadne sat up from her couch. She looked over at Hope who was curled up on the other end of the couch with her blankey. She pushed her hair out of her face and her hand fell to her neck. There was nothing there… she had left it. Her heart sunk.

Quickly she reached for the phone, dialing the new number.

"Hello?" he picked up before the first ring.

"Hi…" things were still awkward.

"I wasn't expecting a call from you," he mused.

"We have to talk…" her brown eyes looked over at her baby. Her Hope. She needed Hope now, she hoped that he would love his daughter… and her.

**Sorry to spam but if you do want to check out that video its up now at **

**.com/watch?v=tZbLF_C45B0**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Thank you so much to Lazarus76 and Moviemaniac12 for updating, it inspired me to be able to write again! Also to the people on tumblr who were messaging me! YOU ARE SO SWEET! I am glad that even though I am a crappy writer I was able to get you to write your own Inception fanfiction. You make my shipper heart sail! :D**

Cobb rubbed his face with his hand as he studied the PASIV like it was one of the hardest math problems he had ever seen. Yusuf finished pouring the last of the sedatives into the filler and announced he was ready. Eames pulled up his chair, the others followed slowly.

"All right," Dom said as he looked around the circle. He slipped his needle into his arm. Ariadne gently slid her own needle into her arm and sat back, trying to get as relaxed as she could. She leaned her head against the hard plastic chair, her gaze lingering on Arthur for a moment. He seemed too intent on his work to notice though.

"Everyone ready?" Eames called aloud. Ariadne didn't answer because she knew they were going to put her under either way. Yusuf sauntered to the middle of the circle they had created and finished fixing a few things before pushing the button.

Ariadne always hated sedative tests because dreams were usually more unstable than usual and a collapsing dream was one of the more painful ways to wake up. Mostly because you died by some sort of brick falling on top of you. Unpleasant to say the least.

This time they ended up in a city. Ariadne hadn't seen it before, it was Eames' dream, and Arthur seemed to recognize it but it was probably from a previous job.

"Ari," Arthur called to her. She blinked a few times as she looked over at him. Cobb and Eames were no where in sight, it was just them. Slowly she walked over to Arthur, unsure of what he was going to say or what he was even thinking.

"I was going to wait until after work to talk to you," she admitted in a small voice.

"I just thought… well, now is just a good a time as any right?" he said as he looked around. Ariadne couldn't see a trace of Eames or Cobb. They were probably off in the dream somewhere talking about levels and such. Arthur started to walk with her, silently, but he had a smile on his face. That was rare. When she was around he was usually panicked, or unsure.

"Let's have a seat," he stopped and she realized that they were standing in front of a café. Before she could protest Arthur had taken a seat in the wicker styled chairs. Reluctantly she perched herself across from him, on the edge of the chair.

"I wanted to say sorry… about everything that happened."

"This is what you wanted to discuss?" he shifted in his seat uncomfortably. She licked her lips, noticing that his happy mood was vanishing. He sighed and nodded, "Go on."

"The other day, you wanted to know what was in that letter right?"

"That was the question," he said with a small smile.

"It has a lot to do with everything that happened. It was my way of telling you why I… did what I did," she couldn't bring herself to say, 'leave you'

"Was it because you found the ring?"

"I…" she stopped and frowned, "What ring?" Arthur frowned at her. Now she was intrigued.

"Arthur, what ring?" she said in a hushed voice. Since there weren't any projections she felt the need to try and be quiet. After all, the forger or extractor could be just around the corner. The eerie silence made her want to scream. He struggled to speak, she could see pain in his eyes.

"You were… you were going to ask me to… to marry you?" she felt like she was ready to cry.

"I was," he rubbed his face, "Well if that wasn't the reason you left. What was?"

"If I had known… if you had said something. I wouldn't have left in the first place," she breathed.

"You thought I wasn't committed to you? Ari… I loved you, I worshiped you. I thought you knew that I couldn't live without you. I was going to ask you the night you left me." He whispered. Pain and hurt filled his beautiful brown eyes. Ariadne looked away. She couldn't stand to see him like this.

"Tell me… what did I do wrong?" he begged calmly. She shook her head, "You didn't do anything wrong."

"Then why did you leave?" he demanded.

"It was all in the letter…" she started, "If Bianca had given it to you, you would have known. Arthur, you should know that you have…"

"Ah there you two are," Eames interrupted. Ariadne let out an audible growl. Both their head's turned to see the English man cross the desolate street to reach the two of them. He took a seat right between them. Ariadne wanted to punch him. Just as she was about to tell Arthur what happened. The moment she was able to get it out, Eames had to interrupt. Arthur mirrored her annoyance as well. He scowled and pretended like something else in the dream had caught his interest.

"Well don't let me spoil the fun. What were we discussing?" he leaned into Ari expectantly. She pushed him off and snapped her mouth shut. He pretended to pout but ruined it with a laugh, "Fine be that way."

Arthur stole a look at Ari who looked defeated. Maybe she just was never supposed to tell Arthur. The universe seemed to shut her down everytime.

"I hope you two will be attending my little birthday party tomorrow night," Eames said.

"Oh shit, that's tomorrow." Ariadne sighed, "I knew I was forgetting something."

"You flatter me darling," he said with a flick of the hand.

"Sorry Eames, I don't know if I can make it or not. I need to find a sitter and someone but on short notice…"

"Just bring the little one," he insisted.

"Eames, there will be drinking there." She scoffed huffily. He laughed heartily, "I promise I will personally stop anyone before they get drunk." She glared at him, knowingly. That was a joke, if anything Eames was the one to get drunk at parties.

"As for you Artie, I expect you to bring _Gwendolyn_." His grin was growing bigger by the second.

"Gwen may not want to see you," Arthur said, crossing his arms.

"Hmmm, tsk tsk… what a shame? I really fancied her." He teased. "Come on Artie, she told me herself she found me an intriguing person. Plus I do have her number so…."

"All right," Arthur threw his hands in the air, defeated, "I'll bring her." The reluctance in his voice was heavy. Ariadne looked over at Eames who gave her a smile that she didn't want. She wanted him gone! She also wanted him to stop talking about _her_! He knew this was a sensitive subject, and while around Ariadne, it was just a bit rude!

There was a deafening split in the sky. They all jumped at once.

"That would be our cue to get out of here," Eames said, standing up. With equally frightening noises, the sky and buildings around the three began to come down. Hurtling and crashing into the ground with loud smashes and giant bangs. Ariadne braced herself as she wandered out into the middle of the street hoping to end it quickly. Something smashed into her skull and she gasped for breath as she opened her eyes.

Sitting in the boathouse after a horrible awakening really wasn't too comforting.

"That was fun," Eames chuckled. Cobb jolted awake and Arthur followed. Yusuf quickly began to converse with Cobb, leaving the rest of them to recuperate. Ariadne got up, she was going to have to go soon. Pick up Hope. Hopefully go home and try to get some sleep. If she was able to come by it at all.

As she began to pack up she became aware of how deathly silent the room had become. Aside from the adjustment of the wires, the occasional scraping or squeaking of the chairs, it was silent. She pushed her utensils into her bag and started on collecting her notes when she froze. Aware of the person who stood beside her.

"Ariadne?" he put his hand down on her desk. She looked up and he was standing closer than he had since… before.

"Yes?" she lost her breath for a moment.

"We weren't done talking," his eyes were blank now. She couldn't tell if he was angry or just stating the obvious. She swallowed, licked her lips and gave a slight nod.

"I'll see you tomorrow." He said as he pulled on his jacket. She nodded again, still not daring to speak. She watched as he headed out, giving only three small nods to the others who were packing up as well. Ariadne glanced over at Eames who was smiling mischievously.

"Eames!"

**Author's Note: Good news. Since you have all decided I was worth giving a second chance and reading this chapter even though the last time it updated was about a month or two ago, I decided to be smart about these updates and I actually FINISHED this ... I am going through the last chapter as we speak... So I can give you regular updates again because it's already done! There will be three more chapters in this before this is done! :D I am really pleased with the way this turned out, but it only matters what you think so please leave a review! Thank you! **


	7. Chapter 7

"Ariadne, am I picking you up or not? It's a simple question." Cobb laughed to her dismay.

"UGH," she groaned into the phone. "I don't want to go with Hope. I really think I am going to skip out and just take Eames out for drinks another night. It's not worth it!"

"It's fine. I'm bringing James. They could play together," he suggested. Ariadne brushed her hair out of her face with her hand. Slowly she turned to see her small innocent daughter sitting in the middle of the floor, humming as she colored with her new crayons.

"Fine…" she gave in. Cobb laughed triumphantly.

"I'll be there about six." He hung up briskly. Ariadne sighed as she shut off her phone as well.

"Well Hope," she caught her attention. The brown eyes that she had inherited from her father pierced her, reminding her that the night would be full of tension and self-consciousness on both Ariadne and Arthur's part. "It looks like we're going to a party tonight."

* * *

><p>"Thanks again," Ariadne said as she slipped into the front seat. James and Hope sat in the back, talking to each other.<p>

"No problem," Cobb said quietly, "Phillipa is at her friend's tonight and Miles went back to Paris last night, so I guess it's nice that James has Hope," he said as he cast a glance back at the two little ones who were giggling about something.

The party was actually more classy than anyone on the team would have pinned Eames for. Apparently it was more of a family party. Or at least, it was a party held by the family. A lot of them seemed to be much older than Eames, though there were those who were obviously his friends. It was at the local country club which was another giant surprise.

Ariadne wasn't much into meeting all of these new people, in fact, she planned to just stick around with Cobb, Yusuf, and Arthur… well, maybe scratch the last part.

It didn't take them long to find Eames. He was talking to one of the many many girls who were there. Ariadne's best guest was that the whole family had invited friends of his and most of the people on his contact list were woman.

"Happy Birthday Eames," Ariadne said as she hugged him with one arm.

"Good to see you Ari... Hope," he high fived the little girl, positioned on Ari's hip.

"Happy Birthday Eames," Cobb greeted him next. Ariadne put Hope down on the ground and took her hand. Ari could tell that the two were talking but she was focused on the people in the room. The only person she was interested in seeing hadn't even arrived by the looks of it. She knew that he was going to say something to her tonight, whether he brought his girlfriend or not.

"Thanks to the both of you, but I'm sorry I have to go talk to some… other people," he pushed his way past the both of them and headed over towards the corner. There was a booth full of girls who looked bored to say the least.

"Well…." Cobb turned to her.

"How's your day?" she joked. They both looked over the crowd. They knew almost no one.

"Daddy," James tugged at his father's pants. He laughed and bent over, "Yes James?"

Ariadne would have listened but _he_ caught her attention. She felt like she was going to throw up the second she saw him. Arthur entered the room with a smile and his girlfriend at his side. He wore his usual suit and she wore a casual dress, that somehow managed to make her look… not so casual. They looked around, obviously searching for people they knew. She seemed to know more people than Arthur did, since she would receive friendly hellos and such. Ariadne looked away. She didn't want him to spot them and see her staring.

"Cobb get up," she said quickly. She picked up Hope and tapped on Dom's shoulder.

"What?" he picked up James.

"Hey guys!"

"Hello Arthur,"

"Hey Arthur!" The chorus of greetings flowed in from him and his girlfriend. He immediately found her. His eyes fell on Hope for a moment, but quickly went back to Ari. He led Gwen forward inconspicuously.

"Ari," he said with a smile.

"Arthur," she said simply.

"Arthur!" Hope wiggled in her mother's arms. He laughed as she waved. Gwen coughed for attention.

"You two know each other,"

"Good to see you," Ari said quietly.

"Mommy can I say something to Arthur?" she asked. Ari looked over at Arthur. He nodded with a laugh and the little girl leaned in. They both giggled, but whatever it was, was inaudible to the rest of them. Though something told Ari that Gwen heard them when she let out a small gasp.

"Hey… Ari," Eames tapped her on the shoulder.

"Ariadne, we'll talk to you later, I have to have a word with Arthur," Gwen quickly whisked away her boyfriend. That left her with the birthday boy.

"What do you want Eames?" she was still slightly annoyed from his interruption the previous day.

"Would you mind if I borrow Hope and or James?" he raised his eyebrow. Ariadne rolled her eyes. He looked back over at the booth where the girls were sitting. There was only one other guy in the corner and he seemed to be striking out.

"Fine, but only because I have to use the restroom," she said, "Eames can I trust you with her?" she asked, irritated.

"Of course!" he shot back angrily.

"I'm watching James, so it won't be a problem to watch Hope too," Cobb offered. There seemed to be a lot of people there, a lot of people that Ariadne had never met before. Sometimes she felt like she knew everything about her co-workers but knew nothing about their actual social life. It wasn't like you could introduce each other at casual gatherings though.

'Oh and this is my co-worker. We both illegally violate subject's minds to steal information and give it to rich employers including anonymous corporations and greedy private parties.' Yeah that was unlikely, to say the least.

Ariadne was about to turn into the small room before the restrooms when she heard voices. They sounded familiar. She stopped and listened.

"I don't know what you are talking about…" … that was Arthur! The second voice answered quickly and it didn't take long for Ariadne to put two plus two together and figure out it was Gwen. They seemed deep into their argument, though for the sake of noise, weren't raising their voices.

"Seriously? Please don't lie," she was more frustrated than angry.

"Gwen, please," he begged.

"Arthur… that little girl is yours." She said, "I would be fine with that… if I couldn't tell that you were still so deeply in love with her mother."

"I'm not in love with her though," he protested quickly.

"Arthur," Gwen sighed. "You do love her, and if that's not your baby then it has to be your twin's or something. She looks too much like you…"

"No, she is not! Ariadne would have told me... right?" he demanded.

"I have no idea Arthur." she stopped and thought for a moment, "She loves you though."

"What?" he seemed deep in thought.

"Arthur… you two love each other… it's like watching a stupid drama show. You know… when two people so obviously love each other." There was a long pause.

"Gwen…"

"Don't try to fool yourself. I know the truth."

"How do you know she loves me? She left me."

"I don't know why people do things." Ariadne snuck a look. Gwen had her arms crossed. Arthur was staring at her intently, though she could tell he was deep in thought.

"You really think she loves me?"

"Never been more positive," she smiled.

"Gwen… I am so sorry." He said in a whisper.

"It's fine." She sighed. Then with more conviction in her voice she spoke again, "We are great friends. It will always be that way. Now go…." Ariadne gasped. She had to get back. Quickly she started back for the table. Fear beat in her heart, why was she so scared of this confrontation? Why was she so unsure of herself? Just those thoughts alone wanted to make her scream.

As she approached the table she saw Eames talking to James and Hope, probably teaching them things that were inappropriate for a three year old and a six year old.

"Come on Hope." Ariadne took the toddler away from Eames. He opened his mouth to protest but someone else said her name before he even got a syllable out.

"Ariadne!" Arthur called. Eames frowned. There was a smile on Arthur's face.

"Arthur." Ariadne readjusted Hope on her hip. Hope used her mother's long brown hair to cover her face shyly. Arthur stared at her. Ariadne wasn't sure what to say. She couldn't say that she had been listening, and this wasn't exactly the time or place she wanted to discuss Hope and whose daughter she was.

"I have to talk to you."

"Evidently," Eames stood up with a smug grin. Ariadne scowled.

"Look, the pretty lady!" Hope pointed. Over on the other side of the room, Gwen was leaving. She wore her coat and everything. Ariadne blushed a violent red, but Arthur seemed to be mauling over what he was going to say next. Eames left them alone, probably pursuing Arthur's ex-girlfriend. That was something nice to think about. She was an ex girlfriend now.

"Aren't you going to go with her?" Ariadne tried to hide the smile on her face.

"No," he seemed distracted by thoughts, "I… I… she… we broke up."

"Oh," no matter who it was, there was always an awkward reaction to that sentence, "I'm sorry."

"Not your fault," What a lie that was. Arthur didn't really seem to catch himself.

"Arthur… can we talk later. It's late, and I probably shouldn't have brough Hope. I mean it's late... and it's late... and she has to go to bed... because it's late."

"Can you spend the night at my place?" he asked looking at the little girl.

"Arthur…" Ariadne shook her head.

"No… come on. I have to talk to you and Hope has to sleep. She can sleep in my guest room and you and I can finally… go over some things. Please... we have to talk and you know it" He said quickly. Ariadne thought for a moment. There were two ways to move forward from there.

"No," she said firmly, "I'm sorry Arthur. I'll just talk to you later."

With that she headed for the door, Arthur didn't even try to follow. She was sure that he was just as confused as she was.

**Author's Note: I really am a bitch and I apologize I forgot to mention musicchica10 yesterday! HER STORIES INSPIRE ME SO MUCH! :D Ok so sorry had to get that out. Also thank you to all you lovely reviewers... I died of happiness that you all didn't give up on me. I will love you all forever! :) **

**Ok so onto the real author's note, I told you these were going to be regular once more. The next chapter is super angsty and dramatic I PROMISE, it's the climax and it should be up tomorrow and then I am still working on the last chapter like it's no one's busines! Ok so thank you all for reviewing because I will forever love you all **


	8. Chapter 8

**I apologize about the wait! I had it finished and then I had to completely rewrote it due to corniness and lack of in characterness... **

**So I dedicate this chapter to my two tumblr buddies who helped me alot! Andre :D and therainddroplet... sorry you never actually told me your name LOL ok and also to the stoletimelord and kittykatattack who frequently are on my tumblr :D I LOVE YOU PEOPLE! Here is the chapter:**

Ariadne finished cleaning the house up, and with impeccable timing too! She always cleaned whenever she was nervous and or anxious about something. Each second that she sat idely, she could only think of Arthur. She kept replaying and overanalyzing each scrutinizing moment that had occurred the night before.

The telephone rang, bringing her out of her haze.

"Hello?" she rubbed her eyes with one hand.

"Ariadne!" Eames yelped.

"What do you want?" she barked.

"Ar-"

"Let me stop you there. I have to go," she said as she saw the time. Quickly she hung up. She had told Cobb that she was too tired to come into work. He understood to say the least. She wasn't telling Eames a lie though, she did have to go and pick up Hope soon. In fact, she would do that next. Even if it was a little earlier she didn't care. She could take the long way to the preschool and let the drive soothe her racing mind. Ariadne pushed the sleeves up on her cardigan as she grabbed her bag and headed for the door.

_Ding dong_. She frowned. Who would be at the door? She hurried to the front and opened the door. Startled, she let out an audible gasp, "Arthur?"

"Ari," he pushed his way into the house. Ariadne stood for a moment, recollecting herself once more. He was saying something, she just had to listen. She couldn't. She knew what she had to say to him, and no matter what he said, he couldn't push those thoughts away.

"Arthur…" she cut in. He stopped and looked up. She had never seen him look so horrible. Sure he wore his usual suit and was as clean as a Lysol wipe but he looked… disgruntled. His shirt wasn't tucked in, his eyes were bloodshot, he hadn't even gelled his hair that morning.

"I don't have time for this," she shook her head, determined, "I have to pick up Hope," she picked up her keys and started to push him out the door with her.

"Wait!" he grabbed her hand and pulled her in.

"Arthur I…"

He pulled her into a kiss so fast she barely had time to process what she was doing. Their lips collided in a messy hurry. She let it sink in for a moment, before she pushed away from him.

"Arthur, what the hell are you doing?" she demanded as she pushed away on his chest with both hands.

"I just kissed you…"

"No, to me?" she demanded, "Why are you fucking with my brain?"

"I just…" her hand moved before she knew what she was doing. A slap right on the cheek.

"No Arthur. NO." she said firmly. With that she shifted her keys into her right hand as she hurried out of the house and to the car. Arthur didn't move to follow her but she didn't really care.

* * *

><p>After returning from the pre-school, Ariadne found that Arthur was still there. He waited by the garage door, keeping dry from the rain. As she pulled in he came in as well, not caring that Ariadne never said if it was ok or not.<p>

"That didn't take so long," he greeted them.

"Hi Arthur!" Hope hoped out of the car with a wave.

"Hello Hope," there was a smile in his voice. Hope headed to the door to the house with a small skip. Ariadne followed, letting her in. At first she avoided looking at him but after he followed her inside, she didn't really have a choice.

"I thought I told you to leave," she said with an annoyed glance upwards.

"You never said…"

"I would have thought me leaving, sent a message," she said as she finished pulling Hope's rain attire off of her.

"Mommy,"

"Go to your room sweetie," she said a little more harshly than she meant, "I mean it Hope. Now." The little girl seemed unsure. Her brown eyes wavered as they moved between her mother and her father.

"Hope," Ariadne said as she put one hand on her hip. She nodded and scurried away from the scene. Arthur put his hand on her shoulder. She shrugged it off and turned around.

"What do you want Arthur?" It was obvious she wasn't going to get rid of him with force. He frowned, "I want you to listen to me, to what I have to say."

"What if I don't want to listen?" she folded her arms, "What if I don't care?"

"I…" he froze for a moment, "You disagreed with yourself the other night… when you said you wanted to talk. You still want to talk. I can see it in your eyes."

She turned away. Damn him, he always knew everything about her…always. She licked her lips and tried to come up with something. Anything that might get him out of her house.

"This has to be done Arthur. We can't go on acting like little kids, we are mature adults. Let's act like our age and handle this better, ok?" she sighed, "I would appreciate it if you left."

"I…"

"You know I would be more likely to want to listen to you if you listened to me," she said quickly. That was it. She had won. Arthur nodded slightly. His jaw slacked a little with disappointment. He turned on his heel and let himself out. Ariadne couldn't believe it, after all that, he was going to leave so easily?

* * *

><p>It wasn't until an hour or so later when Hope and Ari were sitting on the couch that she realized she was wrong. The news was on, the anchor reporting in a whisper as Ariadne and Hope talked and mauled over the drama of preschool.<p>

"Mommy look outside."

"I know sweetie, it's raining hard," she said, slumping her shoulders. Ariadne loved rain. It was always an inconvenience though. Hope loved to go outside and play and it was one more thing to keep the little girl busy while Ariadne had more pressing matters to attend to.

"No not that," she dismissed quickly.

"What?" They both looked through the creamy curtains. Ariadne pushed them away from the window and stared through the pain. Arthur was still out there. He leaned against his car. He was just… standing there.

Arthur always proved his points, he always had to be right. He always wanted Ariadne to listen to him, even when they had been together before he was extremely stubborn. She scowled. Sometimes it was cute but other times it was downright annoying.

"Let's just leave him alone," Ariadne said, closing the curtains tighter than they sat before, "he will leave eventually."

After two more hours it was evident that she was wrong.

"Time to go to bed," Ariadne announced. He was starting to worry her but she would never confess that.

"Mommy… is he going to be ok out there all night?" she asked as she peered through the curtains. Ariadne got up and sighed, "Is he still out there?"

"Uh huh," she mumbled. Ariadne looked out as well. He sat on the curb, leaning against his car. Through the rain she couldn't tell if his eyes were open or closed. He faced the house and had a determined look across his face, or maybe that was pain. She was going to have to go out there if he didn't leave soon.

"Mommy?" Hope brought her back into the room.

"Yes?" she turned and put one hand through her daughter's long black hair.

"He needs help," she said, her attention already grabbed by something on the television.

"Yes he does," she turned back and sat back down on the couch. Hope slumped her head into her lap exhausted. Ariadne combed through her hair with her fingers, just thinking for a moment.

"It's time for bed," she said as her eyes fell on the time. It was something that had seemed to be slipping away from her lately. Hope got up and rubbed her eyes.

Tonight was definently different. Not only did she get Hope to bed within the hour but she got her to actually go to sleep. The little three year old… almost four year old, was stubborn and rarely liked going to bed. In fact she actually hoped that tonight of all nights she would stay awake and consume time. It would delay the inevitable confrontation.

Maybe she could just watch some TV and wait to see if he was going to give up. Ariadne made herself some popcorn and turned on the 90's movie marathon that was on. She turned off all the lights, in hopes that he might get the message. Still, an hour later when she peered out the window he was still sitting there. The rain had even seemed to harden. Angrily she got up and put on a raincoat over her pajamas. She slipped her bare feet into rubber boots and hurried out the door.

"All right Arthur," she shouted over the pouring rain. She was already drenched. Her hair and her clothes were soaked. "What do you want?"

"Just tell me something," he stood up and folded his arms.

"What?" she hissed.

"Do you love me?" She stared at him incredulously. He waited calmly and patiently. The rain didn't even seem to be bothering him. Though she was sure that the rain had permanently ruined his designer suit. His hair drooped longer than she ever remembered seeing it.

"I…"

"Answer the question Ari," he took her hand lightly. The street light went out, leaving them in the darkness of the nightly storm. Ariadne could still see his eyes glimmering in the dark.

"She was right…." She heard him whisper. Arthur pulled her in again. This time she didn't fight back. In fact, she did almost the opposite. She pushed her body up against his, soaking in the warmth from his body in the freezing rain. She had missed this. The way that he held her. The ferocity and passion in his kisses. This time he was the one to pull away.

"I do love you," she said, tracing her fingers where the rain hit.

"I love you," he let her kiss him again but only for a moment.

"What now?" she worried. He pushed her an arm's length away. His eyes locked with hers and she could tell he was… troubled almost.

"Is she mine?"

**I'm gonna get hate for that last part lol cause I haven't exactly finished the last chapter... well actually I have the last sentence and that's it haha :D So if you have ideas feel free to message me :)**


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: I apologize for the cliff I left yo on, I hope this chapter justifies it :) Ok so here it is, sorry for so much dialogue but it is necessary for this final installment! :D Please enjoy:**

"You have to be quiet… I already put Hope to bed," she said as she led him into the quiet house. He nodded. Ariadne sighed as she went to her room. She went into the closet and pulled out the pajamas that she had accidentally packed the day she had left. They were his, and she had worn them from time to time while they were dating, but them being there was sort of a nice memory. Though she was embarrassed that it happened in the first place, she was sort of glad that she had always kept them.

"Are these…"

"Yours yes," she blushed a deep red as she gave them to him. He smiled and disappeared into the bathroom. Now was her chance to think. She got settled on the couch and tried to focus on the television. There was some special on about her favorite thing, architecture, but still she couldn't even begin to process what they were saying. What was she going to say? Where was she going to start? She had been able to avoid the question up until now. He deserved answers, and the truthful answers.

"How do I look?" he asked as he came out.

"Uh…" she couldn't even find words. Seeing him stand there in that grey tee shirt and blue pajama bottoms. It brought everything back to mind. Her old world colliding with her new one. He looked handsome as always.

"You don't have to answer," he said as he approached her. He took a seat beside her. It was more instinctive than deliberate. She moved herself closer to him. For the first time since she had left, she allowed him to wrap his arms around her.

"What happened to Gwen?" she said as she played with the tips of her hair.

"We broke up," he said quietly, "Thanks to you." He laughed.

"Why thanks to me?" she asked as innocently as she could manage.

"She made me realize how much I loved you, how much I love you." He said. "You know… it all makes sense. I understand now."

"You do?" she pushed away from him and looked at him square in the eyes. They were soft and gentle. He nodded solemnly.

"I guess it was obvious all along," she said.

"I just need to hear what you have to say. I need to know… everything," he said calmly. Ariadne nodded.

"Is she why you left me?" he asked.

"Yes," she whispered.

"You cheated on me?" he shook his head confused.

"No!" she shouted at the thought of that, how could you cheat on someone so flawless, so amazing? "No. Of course not." The accusation stung a little.

"Well then, it's obvious, isn't is? _Is_ she mine? Am I Hope's father?"

"Yes…" Ariadne couldn't believe how fast she had answered. After all this time. It felt nice to say it aloud, to tell someone, "you… are the father of my daughter."

"Why would you keep something like that from me?" he asked. She could tell he was hurt. "I… I have a daughter. A little girl," he smiled at the thought, "I think I had a right to know she existed."

"Arthur…" she stopped. She had to compose herself. "I tried to tell you so many times… The letter, and… well all the nights I lay in bed… or the days I spent with her. I wanted to tell you but… I didn't know what you were going to say."

"Why couldn't you just tell me in the first place?" Ariadne sat back up, enabling her to look at him. She took his hand in hers. He waited calmly; patience was always a virtue of his.

"I thought that… well I thought if you didn't want kids well then… we would break up anyway. Then, even if you did want kids, you would insist on marrying me. I wouldn't want to marry you because we were having a daughter. I would want to get married because I loved you and you loved me. Then… the other day, you told me that you were going to ask me to marry you that night and… well I have never felt so horrible. I just… I…"

He broke her off with a kiss. "It doesn't matter anymore. I'm just glad to know that your feelings never changed."

"I never stopped loving you."

"Neither did I," he chuckled.

"I haven't felt this relieved in years." She said leaning against him. His arms wrapping around her.

"Will you please marry me?" he asked. She relaxed all her muscles, and closed her eyes.

"I would love to marry you," she choked on a laugh as tears of happiness formed in her eyes. He was obviously tearing up as well. He kissed her forehead and wrapped his arms tighter. She took everything in. He was amazing. He was everything. He was hers.

"What did you do... after I left?" she wondered aloud.

"Mainly alot of moping. Bianca and I moved in together. I didn't have a job for a year. Then I was running out of money so I went back into the business and I met Gwen on a failed extraction. We were friends and then she insisted we be more. I never felt anything though. Bianca knew, she could always tell that I still loved you but... I was so hurt. I hated to think about it... and not know."

"I'm so sorry... If I had been smart in the first place and just told you, this whole time. We could have been a family. You could have watched her grow up. She really is-

"Mommy?" The voice made her shiver. Hope walked into the room. Arthur tensed. Everything was different now, and she knew it. Ariadne sat up and wiped at her eyes. Hope looked between the two of them cautiously. Ariadne could see thought filling the brown eyes that she had inherited from both her parents. She was just as smart as he was.

"Come here baby," Ariadne held out her arms. Hope clenched her jaw before running to her mom. She climbed up onto her lap and looked at Arthur for a moment.

"Hi Hope," he shifted to let them both sit upright. Hope bit her lip and stared at her mother expectantly.

"Uh… Hope," she coughed to try and get back her normal voice. "I have something to tell you."

"About Arthur." She nodded.

"Sweetie… Arthur… Arthur is your daddy," she said taking her hand. Hope nodded and looked up to Arthur. Her small eyes glimmered. Ariadne could feel Arthur tremble as Hope looked over at him. This had to be hard. Realizing you have a daughter… after all this time.

"Daddy?" she repeated.

"Yes," he inhaled sharply. She pulled on her long curly hair and nodded, "I look like you."

They both chuckled softly as she beamed. It was true. Only a fool couldn't tell. Now that they were so close Ariadne could see how much they did look like each other. She was just as beautiful as he was, everything in her reminded her of him.

"Is that all right with you?" he wondered aloud.

"I've always wanted a daddy," she nodded acceptingly. He laughed as she wrapped her small arms around the part of him she could reach. He awkwardly but his arm around her as well. She was so tiny compared to him.

"I love you," she wasn't sure who said, it was such a low whisper. Though whoever did, it brought tears to her eyes again. Finally she was happy. Nothing could ruin this. She had gotten her happy ending. Though it had taken four years. At last they could be a family, she could marry the man she loved, and most importantly know that Hope was loved by him.

"Ariadne?" he asked as Hope hoped down and took off for her room.

"Mmm?" she traced patterns on his hand.

"Why did you name her Hope?" he asked with a frown. Ariadne smiled, "She looked like you… and… she was my hope that this day would come."

**Author's Note: THANK YOU SO MUCH TO ALL MY LOVELY READERS AND REVIEWERS I seriously love you people, you don't know! Thank you to all authors and tumblrs who helped me spit this out so fast. I really appreciate all the feedback and encouragement, you are the peanut butter to my jelly :D I am really glad you all liked the story so much. Now onto Proposal which should be up pretty soon. I had to go through and reread the whole thing because, to be honest I forgot what I wrote. But stay tuned for that, and thank you so much for helping me with this story. This fandom is one of the best. Thank you all :D **


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